Written in the Stars
by LunarQueenBri
Summary: "She was going to start a revolution on Luna, she declared, with the same determined gleam in her eye he knew, and he fell in love all over again." A collection of random oneshots/drabbles centered around a certain Lunar queen and her Emperor boyfriend.
1. Seven Deadly Sins

**A/N: Hi guys! I just re-read The Lunar Chronicles in preparation for Winter, and oh stars, I love this series. Keep in mind I wrote this before Winter is due to come out!**

 **I can't really dedicate time to a full length story so I figured oneshots would suffice to express my love for the OTP, Cinder and Kai.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own this series or the characters in it; those belong to Marissa Meyer.**

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 _ **1\. Lust**_

Cinder had always had a lust for adventure, for freedom.

She had been legally bound to Adri since age eleven, technically legally _owned_ by her due to the Cyborg Protection Act. She yearned to pack up and leave, to travel anywhere and everywhere with Iko and Peony.

Then the plague had taken her sister, and she couldn't bear to stay any longer than she had to. Once the car was done, she and Iko would be gone.

Yeah, well. That was the plan, anyway.

Instead, she was forcibly sucked into another adventure, a terrifying one involving the Lunar Queen, the handsome Emperor, an overly flirty convict and a revolution. She later realized, as she met Kai's gaze at the end of the aisle, that she wouldn't have it any other way.

 _ **2\. Gluttony**_

The Eastern Commonwealth's grand ballroom was alive with applause and the gentle swaying of gowns. Lanterns strung about the room gave off a warm glow, and refreshment tables lined the walls, filled with a large variety of native delicacies. This year's ball, one to celebrate the one year anniversary of the Lunar Revolution, seemed far more welcoming than last year's.

Of course, last year still held the record for Kai's highest blood pressure.

This ball was infinitely better, for a number of reasons.

First, no more Levana.

And, Kai's favorite reason: he had just announced his marriage alliance to Princess Selene of Luna. They had been planning this for months now, ever since Kai had proposed the idea to Cinder in November. "It's extremely convenient," Kai had explained, "It'll cement the alliance between Earth and Luna, and I'm already in love with you anyway."

Kai knew that if Cinder could blush, she would've probably been cherry red.

Said Lunar Princess was now dragging him down from the staircase—where they had made the announcement (and the ballroom had consequently burst into applause and 'awwws')—and towards one of the refreshment tables.

At his curious look, Cinder shrugged. "I didn't get to try the food last time."

Until this moment, Kai never knew how much of an appetite she really had. Perhaps it was a result of the lack of food while living with her guardian (Kai shuddered), or because they had spent the better part of last year rationing food on board the Rampion.

Cinder hesitantly tasted a spicy roll-like pastry, practically moaned and shoved five more into her mouth. Kai snorted. She was too adorable.

She turned to him, cheeks full. "What?"

The Emperor just chuckled at his fiancée and kissed her forehead. "You're too cute sometimes."

 _ **3\. Greed**_

Cinder, by nature, was not a greedy person. After nearly dying in a fire when she was three and being deprived of eight year of memories, only to be put under the care of an unsympathetic guardian, she quickly learned to appreciate what she did have.

Adri had never spoiled her. Not even close. She had to work to get a replacement foot, she had to work to support Adri, Pearl and Peony, but she never expected to recieve anything material out of it. All she wanted was to escape, to disappear.

Sure, she'd been a bit selfish, but not greedy. Selfishness is part of human nature, after all.

She supposed this did not extend to Kai; she would admit to being a bit greedy when it came to the young Emperor.

She knew a part of him belonged to his people—he was an emperor, after all—but she wanted him all to herself, she didn't want to share him with the public or the press. She tried not to feel this way, but it turned out to be more difficult than it seemed.

The only thing that brought her comfort in this feeling was that Kai seemed to feel the same way. They took solace in the fact that there are parts of them they only share with each other, and no one else.

 _ **4\. Sloth**_

For the first time since prior to the revolution, they finally had an opportunity to relax.

All the immediately necessary matters had been taken care of; Winter had been crowned queen and signed the treaty of Bremen, and reconstruction had already begun, both on Luna and on Earth.

When Cinder and Kai arrived at the New Beijing Palace, they were whisked away to multiple meetings, press conferences and interviews (Cinder preferred to wait quietly off-camera).

And finally, _finally_ , they both collapsed on his bed near dusk. Thankfully, they didn't have to move until the day after tomorrow, meaning the exhausted couple could enjoy a lazy day.

Kai snuggled closer to his girlfriend, looping an arm around her waist and tugging her into his chest. She sighed sleepily and pulled the silk comforter and sheets over them, nuzzling her nose into his neck.

"We can sleep all day tomorrow," he whispered against her hair, then lifted her chin for a slow, lazy kiss.

"Oh stars, yes," she breathed once they broke away. She tucked her head back under his chin, grinning as she felt his quiet laughter.

Later, they would have to discuss more on Earth's relations with Luna and oversee the reconstruction, but for now, Kai let himself trace patterns on his girlfriend's back as they both nodded off into a peaceful sleep.

 _ **5\. Wrath**_

The only other time she had experienced Kai even remotely this angry was after his kidnapping.

To be fair, she was angry too, but her programming kept her hormone levels in balance and had initiated her calming procedure. She was glad for it; she did not want to lose her head at her and Kai's first press conference after the official repeal of the Cyborg Protection Act.

Despite his wrath, Kai seemed to be holding his own. The only way one could tell his emotions was through his clenched jaw and the darkening of his eyes, which Cinder was sure only she had noticed.

She fisted the front of her dress in her hands, watching her partner (boyfriend?) prepare his answer to the reporter's (kind of insulting) question.

"All due respect, I believe your statement is incorrect. Cyborgs are just as human as anyone else. They have feelings, emotions and morals. The Cyborg Protection Act was unfair and outdated and I believe the repealing of it to be perfectly reasonable." Kai finished, a hard edge to his voice. "Next question?"

•~•~•

"I can't believe that reporter asked something like that!" Kai exclaimed, pacing around the coffee table in his office.

Cinder rose from her place on the couch and rubbed her hands over his shoulders, effectively stopping his angry pacing. "Kai, calm down. We knew the prejudice would take years to unravel, remember?"

Kai visibly deflated, head slumping against her shoulder, and she combed her metal fingers through his hair. "I know, I just... it's hard to believe I used to feel like that guy. The ignorance was pretty obvious, wasn't it?"

Cinder laughed lightly. "A little bit, but look at you now. First repealing that stupid law, and then dating a cyborg. A Lunar one, at that. You're practically a revolutionary."

She relaxed when Kai laughed. His arms slid around her, pulling her even closer. Cinder pressed a light kiss against his neck, murmuring, "Everything will turn out okay. Just you see."

 _ **6\. Envy**_

It was the small things, like suffering from a headache in place of crying or cleaning the crevices in her titanium leg that made her painfully aware that she was not fully human.

She tried to ignore it, but seeing so many people with two legs and two hands sometimes made her chest ache. They had the ability to cry, to show emotion through tears, and she did not.

Though most of the world was supportive when she and Kai announced their engagement, there were still groups that discriminated against cyborgs. _"They're not human,"_ they said, " _what was the Emperor thinking, undoing the Cyborg Protection Act?"_

The netscreen in their room was showing footage of a small protest in the southern part of the Eastern Commonwealth when Kai walked in. Cinder sat on the bed, legs folded beneath her, staring blankly at the screen, fiddling absentmindedly with the titanium joints in her left hand.

"Cinder?"

She jumped, turning toward her fiancé. "Oh, Kai. How did the meeting go?"

"Fine," Kai narrowed his eyes. "Why are you watching that?"

"Oh. Um," the future empress of the Commonwealth winced, running a finger over the titanium plating of her leg. "They're showing t-the cyborg protests and I—"

"Netscreen, off." Kai sighed, pulling off his jacket and shoes before climbing on to the bed beside Cinder. He reached an arm around her, tucking her into his side. "Watching that isn't good for you, you know."

She chewed her lip, curling in on herself. "I know, I just... I can't help but wonder sometimes. What it's like to not be cyborg, I mean."

Kai stroked her arm comfortingly before chuckling. "We'd be dead, probably." Cinder smothered a small laugh. "Seriously though, sweetheart. You're perfect just the way you are, okay? Besides, this will help a lot in terms of unraveling prejudice."

Her stomach flipped at Kai's term of endearment, and she smiled lightly. "I suppose it will, won't it?"

"Mhm," he murmured, lips against her forehead.

He pulled her up and off the bed, offering his arm with a cheesy grin. "Now, dinner, Your Highness?"

Cinder snorted but hooked her arm through his. "Certainly, Your Majesty."

 _ **7\. Pride**_

He had always been proud of her.

He supposes it started when she had appeared at the beginning of the grand staircase at the ball, looking frazzled, rain-soaked and covered in smudges of grease. But she was determined, despite the stares she received. He rather liked that she did not seem intimidated by the attention. Uncomfortable, sure, but not afraid.

By then he fancied himself a tiny bit in love with her.

Then she managed to break out of his highest security prison, and the pride he felt for her accomplishment came with a stab of guilt and betrayal; the possibility of war rested on whether his military could capture the elusive Linh Cinder, and he was starting to doubt whether he even knew her at all—whether what they had was even real—yet he still found himself hoping for her safety.

Kai often tried to imagine the shy, stuttering mechanic making her grand escape, strategizing while hidden among the stars. It always brought a smile to his face and a flutter to his stomach, a nice distraction from Levana's threats.

When he discovered she was likely looking for the long lost Lunar Princess and had possibly found her, the pride also brought a spark of hope.

He was fully aware of how much he admired her, and how it must look to his adviser. But Torin didn't understand, he didn't know that their interactions had never felt like glamour.

He was again swept up in the chaos of his planned marriage to Levana, along with the impending dread of having to subject his people to such a heartless empress.

Understandably, he was both proud and furious when she and her accomplices kidnapped him from his own room.

Then he saw she was still the same Linh Cinder he knew. The same timid insecurity, the same sarcasm. Now, though, she was Lunar. She was a _princess_. She was going to start a revolution on Luna, she declared, with the same determined gleam in her eye he knew, and he fell in love all over again.

Now, he stood at her side, gazing out the large windows at the remnants of the revolution in sparkling cities of Luna, and the pride was back. She had done it. She had reclaimed her throne, and he wanted to brag to the world about how amazing she was.

Instead, his arm around her waist tucked her into his side as he smoothed her bangs back, pressing a kiss against her forehead. "I'm so proud of you," he murmured, smiling as she sighed and leaned into him, intertwining her calloused fingers with his warm ones.

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 **A/N: This was my first attempt at writing those characters so I hope I did them justice.**

 **I mean I'm more of a visual artist and graphic designer than a writer but hey, I can try.**

 **~Bri xx**


	2. Nightmares

**A/N: I ended up finishing Winter the day after it released, so I decided to celebrate by writing this.**

 **I absolutely loved Winter. There was no way I could honestly predict what happened, yet the ending was satisfying, nearly the opposite of a lot of books I've read. Meyer is an absolutely fantastic author, and I'm so excited for Stars Above. I've heard one of the short stories is an epilogue to _Winter_!**

 **Disclaimer: These unique and wonderful characters all belong to Marissa Meyer.**

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 _Scenes flashed across Cinder's vision._

 _Lying paralyzed on a bed of hot coals. The cold examination table under her fingertips, the smell of antiseptics and a dull ache in her leg, her hand. A woman appearing on the balcony, horrendously beautiful with an ugly snarl on her face._

 _Blood as it dripped down a girl's cold wrist. A pile of discarded android parts, including a personality chip._

 _The Emperor announcing his engagement to the unnaturally beautiful tyrant. A satellite plummeting toward Earth. Dr. Erland in a self-induced quarantine._

 _Lunar soldiers in Farafrah. Maha Kesley, falling to the ground._

 _Falling, falling, falling, into the crystalline waters below. Chaos, death, pain, guilt._

 _Cress, a knife plunged into her stomach._

 _The sharp pain in her heart._

 _Blackness._

Queen Selene Blackburn of Luna shot up from under the covers, breathing heavily. Alerts flickered across her vision - _increased levels of adrenaline, increased heart rate and blood pressure -_ but she blinked them away, wishing pointlessly that she could cry instead of suffering a headache.

Being as silent as she could, Cinder tossed the rumpled sheets away and set her feet - one flesh and one metal - on the plush carpet. She pushed her messy bangs off her forehead, noting that it was damp with sweat. In the distress of her nightmare, her system must not have enacted the cooling procedure.

The halls of New Beijing Palace were eerily quiet, moonlight barely illuminating the corridors through the large windows. Her retina scanner informed her that it was about two in the morning.

"I knew I should've stayed in Kai's room," she muttered to herself as she padded down the hallway. She'd been staying at the palace for a few weeks now, technically as a Lunar ambassador, though many still recognized her as a monarch. Kai had offered to let her move into his room, but she had reluctantly declined. She was starting to regret that decision.

She pushed open the Emperor's door. "Kai?" she whispered.

"Cinder?" she heard Kai's voice, thick with sleep. "What's wrong?"

She felt a stinging behind her eyes, distantly remembering the memories flashing behind her eyelids. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she closed Kai's door behind her.

Kai sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I, um," Cinder bit her lip, "I had a nightmare."

He smiled softly, running a hand through his hair, and pulled the covers back, silently inviting her in. She accepted without hesitation and crawled into his open arms, tucking her head under his chin. "What was it about?"

"Everything," she murmured. "Peony, Farafrah. And... I've always had this reoccurring nightmare, where I'm on a bed of hot coals, burning alive. I-it was only after I found out about the princess thing that I realized it was probably a memory."

His arms tightened around her as she squeezed her eyes shut. "You're safe now, okay? Levana's gone, reconstruction is almost finished. The antidote is saving thousands of lives everyday."

"I know," Cinder sighed.

They lay quietly, the only sounds being their breathing and the rustling of the sheets as Kai smoothed his hand down her back. Cinder occasionally shifted closer to Kai's warmth, relishing the pressure of his hand as it stroked her spine.

"Do you want to move in here with me?"

"Yes please."

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 **A/N: Very short, but life's been hectic. We're moving houses so I've had to pack up all of my stuff.**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **~Bri xx**


	3. The Press Conference

**A/N: Another installment of Cinder x Kai. Enjoy this little blurb!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own TLC!**

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Despite how Kai had reassured her after the revolution, Cinder still felt the urge to vomit as she and Kai stepped up to the podium. To Cinder's dismay, they had called a press conference to answer any questions regarding their recent engagement.

She wrung her hands together in silent apprehension, swallowing thickly; what if the citizens of the Commonwealth still hated her? What if they tried to protest her engagement to Kai?

Before she could panic any further, a hand slid into hers, interlacing their fingers. Warm skin against cool metal.

"Ready?"

Cinder closed her eyes and counted to ten. "Yeah, ready."

She bunched the front of her dress in her hands and stepped up beside Kai. Immediately, a low murmur spread through the crowd of reporters and journalists.

"Good morning, citizens of the Eastern Commonwealth. We called this conference to answer any questions about my engagement to Queen Selene of Luna, better known as Linh Cinder," Kai greeted with a pleasant, practiced smile. A middle-aged reporter in the second row raised her hand. "Yes, in the second row?"

Cinder subconsciously tensed, waiting for criticism. Kai squeezed her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"When do you suppose the wedding will take place, Your Majesties?"

Cinder blinked, frozen.

Kai grinned. "We were thinking about eight months from now, the day of the Annual Peace Ball. The ball would also double as the reception."

The cyborg's shock receded and she licked her lips. She suddenly remembered Kai and Torin's advice about handling the press: _Sound friendly. Make them laugh._ "I'm still hoping to erase the memory of my first Peace Ball."

To her surprise, the crowd chuckled, and she smiled, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Even Kai chuckled beside her, now rubbing a hand up and down her back. "Might take more than that, sweetheart. It's a pretty strong memory," Kai pressed his lips against her temple.

This time the crowd was a mix of laughs and awe's, and Cinder was suddenly grateful she couldn't blush. "Okay, next question."

She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress skirt and pointed to a raised hand. "In the third row?"

"If you don't mind, may I ask how you met?"

Immediately, Kai laughed and Cinder covered her face with her hands, groaning.

"Well," her fiancé started, "My personal android was broken, and I had heard her reputation as the best mechanic in New Beijing. So I snuck out of the palace one day with my android to go to her booth. You can imagine my surprise when I found out New Beijing's most renowned mechanic was a teenage girl." The crowed chuckled again.

Kai continued, smirking. "The first thing I noticed about her was the grease stain on her forehead."

Now the crowd was in an uproar. Even Cinder giggled a bit and bumped her shoulder into Kai's.

Once the crowd had quieted somewhat, Cinder spoke. "He didn't even notice that I was hobbling around without a foot that day."

While waiting for the crowd to settle again, Kai leaned over and whispered into Cinder's ear. "See? I told you you could do it."

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 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I know this series doesn't have a very big fan base compared to others, but it deserves so much more attention.**

 **Thank you so much for your kind reviews, and I hope you enjoyed this one!**

 **~Bri xx**


	4. Names

**A/N: So it's almost 1am and I was hit with feelings about TLC, so here's some unedited self-indulgent fluff. The fluffiest.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the wonderful world of The Lunar Chronicles.**

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The palace gardens had always been one of Cinder's favorite places. She'd spent an increasing amount of time wandering them since she became the empress of the Eastern Commonwealth almost two years ago; though most of the time, her husband wandered hand in hand alongside her. The sweet smell of flowers, cool breezes and the sounds of trickling water from the fountains never failed to put her at ease.

Now, Cinder sat on a bench overlooking one of the koi ponds, one hand on her slightly swollen stomach. She was about five months along, according to the doctors; her most recent ultrasound reported everything to be going well, and she now had a noticable baby bump and a need for maternity dresses.

Kai, of course, had spoiled her rotten. Not that Cinder didn't enjoy it; on the contrary, she found it rather refreshing after living with Adri for years. He'd given her massages, drawn her baths, and gone to the kitchens himself in the middle of the night to satisfy her cravings.

It seemed so long ago that she had been working at that greasy booth in the marketplace; so long ago that she'd met the prince of the Eastern Commonwealth, hobbling around on one foot and poking at his android. So long ago that she discovered herself to be the lost Lunar princess, and now she and Kai were going to have a daughter—a little princess of their own.

Cinder never imagined, in all her years, that she would ever be this happy. Her chest warmed with affection for her husband and their unborn child. She felt the pressure of an oncoming headache behind her eyes and realized that her hormones must be making her emotional.

"Why good evening, my Empress."

Cinder turned to see Kai approaching her bench, a warm smile on his face and a teasing glint in his eye.

She rolled her eyes as he sat down, and pressed herself against his side, tucking her head under his chin. "Your child is making me hormonal again," she complained dramatically, going limp against him.

Kai chuckled at his wife. "Headache?"

At her nod, he pulled a small container of pain pills out of his pocket. He'd taken to keeping some for emergencies such as this; especially since headaches were more frequent for Cinder than almost anybody else.

She hummed in appreciation and popped one into her mouth, swallowing it dry.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the gardens in the evening. Kai's hand, the one not wrapped around Cinder's shoulders, drew slow circles on her belly while Cinder allowed herself to rest against him.

After a while, Kai spoke. "Have you thought about names?"

Cinder was quiet for a moment. She glanced at her stomach, Kai's hand covering her own, then at the small patch of peonies blooming near one of the fountains.

"What about Peony?"

He squeezed her shoulder. "After your sister?"

Cinder nodded and looked up at him. "She never got to meet you, or any of the others. She was the only person who cared about me for years, besides Iko. She had a whole life ahead of her, but she died so young."

She swallowed another pill; she could feel another headache coming on, and she silently cursed her inability to cry. "Plus, the flower is beautiful as well," she added, an afterthought.

Kai hummed, taking her titanium hand and kissed the back of it, weaving her fingers between his. "I think Peony is perfect. Princess Peony of the Eastern Commonwealth."

Cinder smiled brightly. She leaned up and pecked his lips, giggling at his dazed expression. His hand resumed tracing warm circles on her stomach and she leaned into him. "Peony it is."

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 **~Bri xx**


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